The economics of depression in primary care. Department of Health initiatives.

BACKGROUND

Most mental illness is treated in primary and not secondary care settings, with depression and anxiety the commonest conditions encountered.

METHOD

The paper describes on-going Department of Health initiatives to optimise the primary care of common mental illnesses such as depression.

DISCUSSION

Primary care attenders with depression are often higher consumers of general health care than non-depressed attenders. Further data will become available soon from these ongoing studies to inform the debate on the optimal use of available resources in primary care. There is a particular need to evaluate non-pharmacological interventions in primary care.